Right now, less Messi means more Barça >> Read My Mind

Guardiola: 'The match against Rayo was a bit strange and different. You can tell they have a great manager, and that they are doing things well. I have to congratulate Rayo’s courage. I’ve always said that there is no such thing as a good or bad manager, there are managers with courage and managers without courage'
Guardiola: 'The match against Rayo was a bit strange and different. You can tell they have a great manager, and that they are doing things well. I have to congratulate Rayo’s courage. I’ve always said that there is no such thing as a good or bad manager, there are managers with courage and managers without courage'

Guardiola: 'We knew that defending hard was one of Alexis' talents, and that he wasn’t only an attacking player. The lad was doing well before he picked up his injury, it’s clear that he lacks the continuity. Today people saw what he’s capable of, and I want to congratulate him on his good game'

Guardiola: 'Villa is a player that constantly looks for space, a player that his teammates should find. You already know what he means to us. He doesn’t stop moving to make space. Doing this, sometimes the ball gets to him sometimes it doesn’t. But he never gets tired of doing it. He knows his value to the team'

- So pleased to see other players rather than Messi taking goal-scoring responsibility. Don't get me wrong, La Pulga is definitely the best thing that's happened to Barça in last 100 years, but I was getting increasingly tired of the rest of our attacking players over-relying on him when things turned ugly.

Let's hope Alexis continues to shine in weeks to come, showing his injury worries are behind him and truly making an impact playing WITH Messi, rather than FOR him.

The same reasoning applies to David Villa, another brilliant striker who needs to step up for the whole team to benefit.